Medical tracking systems can be used to ascertain a spatial position of tracking markers. When such markers are attached to objects, such as medical instruments and/or on patients, then the spatial position of the objects and/or patients also can be ascertained and provided to a medical navigation system, which enables image-guided surgery. Since the accuracy of such tracking systems is highly important for correct navigation, the systems are calibrated.
Calibrated systems provide precise positional data of the detected tracking markers. One problem with calibrating such tracking systems, however, is that the markers often cannot be calibrated in situ, i.e., at the site of installation in the hospital or in the operating theaters. The tracking systems have to be taken to special testing stations, where the spatial position of the calibration markers relative to installed “test” tracking systems is also known. Also, tracking systems comprising tracking markers of different functional configurations (optical passive tracking markers, optical active tracking markers, magnetic tracking markers, etc.) are calibrated or tested in different, specially provided calibration means.